Luscious Spring Dessert Recipes

Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes

Michigan's fruit belt inspired our Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes. We played up the sweet cherries grown in the Great Lakes State, along with blueberries and raspberries. A shortcake biscuit base and sweetened whipped cream complete the dessert.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

The family behind Illinois' Rendleman Orchards has amassed some great peach recipes in 135 years of growing peaches. This cake is no exception. Peach slices and brown sugar form a moist base for the tender, square cake--and when flipped over, that base becomes the topping.

Lemon-Cream Cheese Pie

This creamy lemon pie, a longtime reader-favorite recipe, is a signature dessert at Al's Oasis, a family restaurant along the east bank of the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota (135 miles east of Rapid City).

Crepes Suzettes

The classic French dessert is absurdly simple; soak crepes in buttery, boozy, orange-flavor syrup, then serve with whipped cream. Although unflavored Sweet Crepes are traditional in this dish, you could make a delicious orange-chocolate variation by substituting Cocoa Crepes.

Tinted Angel Cake

The many colors of Kool-Aid, a Nebraska invention, give an array of choices for this angel food cake that starts with a mix. Pink lemonade Kool-Aid adds pastel prettiness and a delicate flavor to Tinted Angel Cake. The tropical punch version gives the cake flavor that's as intense as its color.

Candied Citrus Peel

If you can resist munching on all these chewy, sweet citrus bits, you'll find plenty of ways to use them in your kitchen. We like stirring chopped peel into granola or cookie batter, sprinkling it over vanilla ice cream, or dipping the pieces in chocolate. Keep in mind that lime peel does not taste particularly good when candied.

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Hopkins, Minnesota, calls itself America's Raspberry Capital and hosts an annual Raspberry Festival -- including a cooking contest. One entry was this recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, which combines layers of cheesecake and raspberry filling in an almond crust.

Vanilla Bean Crepe Cake

When did being vanilla become an insult? This stack of golden crepes and creamy mascarpone is simple, elegant and deceptively delicious. Supermarket crepes are larger than homemade ones, so if you use purchased, you'll need to make an extra half batch of filling, or just make a cake with fewer layers.

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream/Raisin Pie

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies

Dried cherries make oatmeal cookies even more memorable in this recipe from American Spoon Foods, which has locations in the Traverse City, Michigan, area. We like the cookies' crisp edges and chewy centers.